Education Commons^™

Informal Technology Coaching: Using Pre-Service Teacher Field Experiences To Support K-12 Flipped Classroom Instruction, Antoinette P. Bruciati, Maria Lizano-Dimare

Education Faculty Publications

This paper describes a pilot field experience component that is part of an online graduate level course in educational technology for pre-service teacher candidates. As part of the field experience, teacher candidates develop a model lecture video and learning activity screencast that are used to coach certified teachers in the methods for “flipping” their classrooms. The field experience is used by course instructors to determine the ability of their teacher candidates to plan technology-enhanced learning experiences, deepen their content knowledge, and improve their abilities to select and use developmentally appropriate technologies. Certified teachers benefit through informal coaching by pre-service teacher …

Faculty Development Initiative For Converting F2f Courses Into Online Courses, Maria Lizano-Dimare, Antoinette P. Bruciati

Education Faculty Publications

With faculty development changes in practice from traditional face-to-face to online delivery modalities, this paper describes an initiative for faculty at a College of Education whereby pre-existing courses are converted for online delivery. Opportunities and challenges are examined and used in the development of best practices for faculty development that embrace the use of online modalities. What strategies can Online Learning Mentors use to achieve the expected outcomes when mentees differ in technology competencies, pedagogical skills and have minimal online experience? Implications for faculty preparation, professional growth, and considerations for online conversion are discussed.

Teachers' Perceptions Of K-12 Online: Impacting The Design Of A Graduate Course Curriculum, Michael K. Barbour, Kelly L. Unger

Education Faculty Publications

While K-12 online learning in the United States has increased exponentially, the ability of teacher education programs to adequately prepare teachers to design, deliver, and support has been deficient. A small number of universities have begun to address this deficit through the introduction of graduate certificates in online teaching. This article examines curricular changes focused on introducing in-service teachers to K-12 online learning. This design-based research study examined changes in teacher perceptions after having completed a systematic curriculum focused on K-12 online learning, as well as track revisions to that curriculum based on the data collected. The results indicate that …

Becoming A Scientist: Using First-Year Undergraduate Science Courses To Promote Identification With Science Disciplines, Chloe Ruff, Brett D. Jones

Education Faculty Publications

In this qualitative study, we examined how two professors (a physicist and biochemist) of first year college students perceived their students’ development of identification in biochemistry or physics and how they actively supported this development. The professors described students who entered college with different levels of domain identification and different expectations for their college science experience depending upon whether they were in a biochemistry or physics major. Although neither professor was familiar with research related to the concept of domain identification, their beliefs about their students’ identification and academic support strategies generally aligned with the Osborne and Jones (2011) model …

Evaluation And Approval Constructs For K-12 Online And Blended Courses And Providers, Michael K. Barbour, Tom Clark, Kristen Debruler, Justin Bruno

Education Faculty Publications

Public Act 60 (2013) of the Michigan Legislature tasked Michigan Virtual University, through its Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, to “research, develop, and recommend annually to the department criteria by which cyber schools and online course providers should be monitored and evaluated to ensure a quality education for their pupils.” This study provides an overview of existing models of cyber and online evaluation, both of which serve to inform the forthcoming recommendations. In this study, the authors review existing literature related to the evaluation of online and blended learning programs and providers, and identify five dimensions for course and provider …

Teaching The History Of U.S. Higher Education: A Critical Duoethnography, Z. Nicolazzo, Susan B. Marine

Education Faculty Publications

In this duoethnography, we interrogate our roles as critical pedagogues in designing and teaching a graduate level course focused on the history of U.S. higher education. Throughout this dialogue, we surface tensions around what it means to enact critical pedagogy. Rather than just espousing a critical stance, we wrestle with how external pressures such as limited time, the need and desire to convey certain information to students, and neoliberalism influence the doing of critical pedagogy. We also discuss how our social identities, as well as those of the students alongside whom we teach and learn, affect the learning process. We …

A Educação A Serviço Do Estado Novo No Brasil (1937-1945): Políticas E Práticas Educativas, Karl M. Lorenz, Ariclê Vechia

Education Faculty Publications

Em 1937, com o pretexto de acabar com a instabilidade politica e impedir um “Complô Comunista”, Getulio Vargas deu um golpe de Estado e instaurou um regime ditatorial conhecido como o “Estado Novo”. No período 1937 -1945 foram lancados projetos de padronização ideológica e cultural -- incluindo a educação que deveria ser um instrumento de propagação da ideologia do Estado Novo. No projeto de Estado Nacional centralizado, a educação focalizou na “brasilidade”; ou seja a formacao de um “novo homem” para um novo Estado. Para implementar este ‘projeto educacional nacionalista’ varias medidas foram tomadas, tais como: a publicação de livros …

Administrators' And Faculty's Perceived Online Education Barriers And The Role Of Transformational Leadership At A U.S. University In Lebanon, Sahar El Turk, Isabelle D. Cherney

Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the perceived barriers obstructing the implementation of online education by administrators and faculty at the School of Arts and Sciences of a U.S. university located in Lebanon. The aim of this study was to offer a solution to the most important perceived barriers to online education that informs administrative decisions concerning the appropriate modalities of online instruction that may be implemented at the university. The exploratory factor analysis identified 8 factors out of 35 possible perceived barriers to online education. Faculty and administrators perceived the structural barriers and the pedagogical barriers …

Building Better Courses: Examining The Content Validity Of The Inacol National Standards For Quality Online Courses, David Adelstein, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

In 2011, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning released the second iteration of the National Standards for Quality Online Courses. These standards have been used by numerous institutions and states around the country to help design and create K-12 online courses. However, there has been no reported research on the validity of the standards or the accompanying rubric. This study compares all elements under the five main standards to contemporary K-12 or higher education online course literature. The research concludes with suggested changes and additions, as well as an explanation as to how the research connects to a larger …

Researching And Reshaping Literacy Learning: Three Urban K-6 Teachers’ Ongoing Transformations Through Everyday Action Research, Kristin N. Rainville, Grace Enriquez

Education Faculty Publications

Given the vast range of diversity among children’s backgrounds and needs, literacy educators must consider multiple ways in which children learn and interact with texts. Moreover, policies that increasingly require frequent assessments of children’s literacy achievement place pressure on educators to find immediate ways to impact children’s learning. This qualitative inquiry explores three graduate students’ yearlong engagement in literacy-related action research within ethnically and socioeconomically diverse, urban K-6 classrooms. Grounded in a social practice perspective on literacy and a sociocultural perspective on literacy learning, we examined participants’ constructions of action research as they developed research questions, entered various research sites, …

Career Planning With Careerforward: Exploring Student Perceptions And Experiences In An Online Career Preparation Course, Michael K. Barbour, Minakshi Lahiri, Sacip Toker, Kelly Unger Harrison

Education Faculty Publications

In April 2006, the Michigan State Board of Education and Michigan Legislatures adopted a rigorous package of high school graduation requirements, one of which made Michigan the first state that incorporated an online learning graduation requirement into the K‐12 curriculum. All Michigan's students entering high school during 2008‐2009 school year were required to complete online learning during their course of high school studies in order to graduate. Michigan Virtual School helped the schools in Michigan to fulfill this requirement by developing a 20‐hour online learning course called “Career Forward”. In December 2008, the Michigan Virtual University provided the National Repository …

Book Review - Online, Blended, And Distance Education: Building Successful Programs In Schools, Joshua C. Elliott

Education Faculty Publications

Book review by Joshua C. Elliott.

Clark, T. & Barbour, M.K. (Eds.). (2015). Online, Blended, and Distance Education: Building Successful Programs in Schools. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2015. ISBN: 9781620361641 (pbk.)

Historical Trends And Emerging Issues In Teacher Education Programs In The United States, Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

US national and state educational polices are advocating for more teacher accountability with respect to student performance, and accrediting agencies are requiring more evidence of teachers’ mastery of subject area knowledge and professional skills. This paper examines some of the significant educational and social issues currently facing basic education and teacher preparation programs in the United States. It addresses numerous topics and focuses on five general issues that confront K-12 education and either directly or indirectly Teacher Preparation Programs.

Las políticas educativas nacionales y estatales de Estados Unidos están abogando por una mayor responsabilidad de los maestros con respecto al …

The Straight Truth About Online Learning In The Straits: An Investigation Into The Nature Of Education In A Rural And Remote Region Of Newfoundland And Labrador, Dennis Mulcahy, Michael K. Barbour, Minakshi Lahiri

Education Faculty Publications

This paper reports on a naturalistic research project that was conducted in response to the educational concerns of the coastal rural communities of Labrador Straits. The research project investigated the current provision of education available to the children and the youth of these communities and found that due to declining population, changing demographics, lack of qualified teaching staff in the region and several other interrelated factors, there was an increased reliance on online learning in the small rural schools of the Straits as well as other rural regions of the province.

Finding Relevance, Competence, And Enjoyment: The Development Of Domain Identification And Interest In First-Year Science Majors, Chloe Ruff

Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how first-year college students perceive their development of domain identification with, and interest in, their prospective science major during their initial year of college. Four themes emerged from the coding and analysis of interviews with eight first-year science students: Self-Definition in Flux, Feeling Competent, Expressing Interest through Enjoyment, and Relevant to Me. These themes were mainly consistent with the current model of domain identification (Osborne & Jones, 2011) but differ from the current model of interest development (Hidi & Renninger, 2006). Theoretical and practical implications are included for faculty and advisors …

Making The Invisible, Visible: Rti And Reading Comprehension, Jonathan Hart, Divonna M. Stebick

Education Faculty Publications

For the better part of a century the educational community has had increased focus on the importance of reading. The publication of Why Johnny Can't Read and What You Can Do About It (Flesch, 1955) began the surge of effort to better understand the cognitive process of reading to further examine how educators can help children become better readers. Since this 1950's publication, reading research grew and philosophies developed and subsequently changed. However, one thing remained the same: understanding what we read is critically important to becoming a critical thinker. Thus, reading comprehension research continued to boom and the educational …

Primary And Secondary Virtual Learning In New Zealand: Examining Barriers To Achieving Maturity, Michael K. Barbour, Niki Davis, Derek Wenmoth

Education Faculty Publications

This paper describes the organisational development of virtual learning in networked rural schools in New Zealand, specifically the obstacles that e-learning clusters of rural schools face in their journey to sustainability and maturity through the lens of the Ministry’s Learning Communities Online Handbook. Analysis of a nationwide purposeful sample identified three common barriers: a lack of a coherent vision; difficulty in sustaining necessary funding and resources; and of the need for more collaboration within and between clusters. Based on these findings, it is recommended that VLN e-learning clusters develop specific strategies to encourage greater collaboration between schools and work towards …

Virtual Education: Not Yet Ready For Prime Time?, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

The field of K–12 online and blended learning is varied and growing. Regardless of whether a student is enrolled in a brick-and-mortar school and taking one or two courses online, or if they are completing all of their education from a cyber school, more and more students are enrolled in online and blended learning opportunities each school year. Over the past decade, there have been successive legislative and regulatory changes in jurisdiction after jurisdiction designed to encourage this growth in K–12 online and blended learning. Many of these changes have been spurred by proponent claims that K–12 online and blended …